Schools, cities prepare for more snow

Snow days could start cutting into summer vacation

Town highway departments and schools are once again making decisions about budgets and canceling classes as another winter storm looms.

A snow day is often welcomed by children, but when it's this late in the season, more snow days could start eating away at summer vacation.

In Londonderry, Superintendent Nate Greenberg said another snow day Tuesday could mean students are in class until June 21. Greenberg said the district has 10 snow days built into the school year and has used five so far. A couple more could cause concern.

"I think once you start hitting seven or eight, you really ought to begin to look at some options," he said. "The deeper you go into June, we have no air-conditioning, and you run into the potential for high heat buildup."

Alternatives include scheduling class time on Saturdays or holidays, but the hope is that it won't come down to that.

While snow days are piling up, snow-removal budgets are going down. In Manchester, city officials will pay close attention to the storm's intensity, because the more snow they see, the more trucks they need on the road.

"We still have some money in our snow-removal budget, but that certainly is not going to affect how we treat the roadways," said Timothy Clougherty of Manchester Public Works. "The roads will be safe for the traveling public."

Greenberg said that while there has been a lot of snow this year, it is turning out to be a rather typical winter in terms of snow days. He said because last year had very little snow, the difference may seem more pronounced.

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